Tuesday, June 28, 2011

A Little Help From A Weak Position

After the Indians free fall over the last 30 days it was time to make a move. They called up their former 1st round draft pick Lonnie Chisenhall. The lefty had modest numbers while in AAA Columbus. He batted .265 with an OPS of .779 in 65 games.
For fantasy owners we know the difficulties in finding quality 3B this year. It is by far the toughest position to get solid production from everyday. Currently on 12 players rank in the top 130 that qualify for 3B, of those that qualify only 3 are actually playing 3B currently. Chisenhall may be the next flavor of the month and struggle early on but he is a long-term keeper at the position.
In his debut he went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. I project him to get most of the starts at 3B going forward. His problem will be hitting left hander’s, like most rookies. His slash line against lefties in the minors is less than poor.  He could only muster a .200 BA with a .360 slug%. He is simply not experienced enough to handle top lefty’s at his young age of 22. The tribe will still run him out there against every righty but be lifted in tight games for the better glove of Hannahan or in double switches during interleague. He will bat in the bottom third of the order and be slightly more usable than the current Hannahan.
Do not expect anything more this year than an average at best hitter at 3B, think .255 BA. Getting to 10HR would be the ceiling with 50 RBI.  Not much speed so any SB is gravy. In daily leagues definitely get him your line-up against all righties but have a contingency plan against the lefties.  He should definitely be owned in all Dynasty Leagues and probably is.

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